Lobsters, Thylacines, and Bacteria: An Introduction to Animal Histories

Amid a period of existential human angst about the future of our planet and the other creatures on it, the discipline of history is experiencing an “animal turn”. This developing interdisciplinary approach draws on numerous fields, from anthropology to veterinary science, to better understand the lived experiences of non-human animals in the near and distant past. Animals have not only played important roles in human history, as abstract symbols, exploited resources, or close partners, but they also have their own histories. Can we get at animal histories independent of human interference? In this discussion-based seminar we will explore a variety of research modes in the emerging field of animal histories and tackle the challenge of de-centering humanity in the study of the past.